NORRISTOWN — Montgomery County Board of Commissioners Chairman Josh Shapiro explained some of the possible side effects of the looming federal sequester issue, when he met with members of the local press corps Thursday afternoon at One Montgomery Plaza.

Shapiro painted a grim picture of what could happen to students, parents, seniors and families in the county, should “the sequester” go into effect. He provided a slew of numbers and assessments from both the White House and the commonwealth, based on the assumption the sequester goes into effect as proposed.

In recent months, threats of a near-government shutdown, with words like “fiscal cliff,” “debt ceiling” and “sequestration” have had nerves rattling around the nation. The Obama administration has said that an estimated $85 billion in automatic budget cuts — set to take effect Friday at midnight — could go into effect if it and congressional Republicans cannot come to an agreement on how to eradicate a federal debt of more than $16 trillion.

Sitting down with members of the media Thursday, Shapiro called the federal sequester “absolutely unnecessary.”

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“I’m hopeful that in these final days before the sequester takes effect, that cooler heads will prevail and rational minds will prevail in Washington and something can actually get done,” he said.

“For Montgomery County, on top of the cuts we’ve already had to deal with from the (Gov. Tom) Corbett administration, in their previous budget, this will provide significant pain to residents of our county who rely on critically important services.”

Shapiro outlined seven areas where Montgomery County residents could see an impact. In that category he included aging and seniors, transportation, family caregiver support programs, education and work study programs, law enforcement and public safety, job assistance and public health.

He outlined two senior nutritional programs which are funded, in part, with federal dollars, including Meals on Wheels and congregate meals for senior centers.

Last year, said Shapiro, the county served 250,000 meals to households and more than 80,000 meals to senior centers. He said the sequestration would threaten approximately 1,500 meals to families and prompt the creation of a waiting list, where none exists today.

Shapiro said transportation was also at risk, especially to older residents who rely on taxpayer-funded rides to doctors and hospitals.

“My top concern, when it comes to meeting the needs of seniors in Montgomery County, is funding we receive through the Older Americans Act,” he said.

“This funding goes to multiple programs in the county, and it helps those most in need. Of particular concern to me is that we will have to limit or reduce the number of elder abuse investigations the county is currently involved in. Whether it’s a scam upon a senior, a medical abuse or another type of abuse, we investigate this at the county level, and that will have to be reduced. “

Shapiro said Pennsylvania could stand to lose approximately $26.4 million in funding for primary and secondary education.

“It’s been estimated that about 360 teaching jobs will be at risk and 29,000 fewer students will be served by various programs the funding goes towards. Montgomery County stands to lose $1.5 million in funding for primary and secondary schools. In addition to that, we believe Montgomery County will lose between $1 million and $1.2 million for teachers, aides and staff who help children with disabilities.”

He also outlined several losses to job assistance programs, reductions in vaccines for children and public health threats, such as infectious diseases and natural disasters.